Solar Installers In Maitland

Below are reputable solar installers in the SolarQuotes network who serve Maitland, in New South Wales, along with links to ratings and reviews of their installations. Other useful information about installing solar panels in Maitland is below the list.

To get quotes from these installers, select up to 3 businesses and then hit 'Get Quotes From Selected Companies'.

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  • Client since Jan 2011

    1KOMMA5

    4.3

    656 reviews

    $7000 – $11300 For a 6.6kW system

  • Client since Feb 2010

    All Green Environmental Solutions

    4.4

    633 reviews

    $9230 – $9729 For a 6.6kW system

  • Client since Feb 2010

    All Green Environmental Solutions

    4.4

    633 reviews

    $9230 – $9729 For a 6.6kW system

  • Client since Dec 2017

    Smart Energy Answers

    4.6

    563 reviews

    $6200 – $10200 For a 6.6kW system

  • Client since Dec 2017

    Smart Energy Answers

    4.6

    563 reviews

    $6200 – $10200 For a 6.6kW system

  • Client since Dec 2017

    Smart Energy Answers

    4.6

    563 reviews

    $6200 – $10200 For a 6.6kW system

  • Client since Oct 2017

    Penrith Solar Centre

    4.9

    545 reviews

    $3700 – $10494 For a 6.6kW system

  • Client since Dec 2010

    RK Solar And Consulting Services Pty Ltd

    4.5

    538 reviews

    $5400 – $9000 For a 6.6kW system

  • Client since Jul 2015

    Beyond Solar

    4.4

    485 reviews

    $4850 – $6900 For a 6.6kW system

  • Client since Jul 2015

    Beyond Solar

    4.4

    485 reviews

    $4850 – $6900 For a 6.6kW system

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Maitland Climate

Maitland can be hot in summer and cold in winter with an average high of 30.5° in January and an average low of 5.5° in July. Rainfall is considerably lower than in Sydney, which is only 167 kilometers by road to the south. However, the lower average rainfall has never stopped Maitland from having floods of enormous size, with reports of floodwaters of reaching 24.4 meters in 1806.

Maitland Solar Potential

Solar panels on a typical north facing roof in Maitland will receive an average amount of sunlight energy equal to about 5.0 hours of full noon sunshine a day. This puts Maitland on par with Canberra and ahead of Sydney.

A new 6 kilowatt solar system on a north facing roof could be expected to produce an average of around 24 kilowatt-hours a day or 8,760 kilowatt-hours a year.

Solar Feed-In Tariffs In Maitland

Feed-in tariffs are a payment for surplus electricity produced by rooftop solar that isn’t used by the household or business but is instead sent into the grid. In NSW the feed-in tariffs available depend on what is offered by electricity retailers.

Just which is the best plan to use depends upon individual circumstances. Electricity retailer plans can be compared using SolarQuotes’ electricity price comparison tool, which will show the best deals available for solar owners.

The Rooftop Solar Application Process In Maitland

I strongly recommend having your installer guide you through the application process for rooftop solar. In some areas network operators request that you contact them first, but that does not appear to be the case in Maitland.

Maximum Solar System Size In Maitland

Maitland households can install up to 4.99 kilowatts of rooftop solar if they have single phase power. The maximum is determined by the size of the inverter and and not the total capacity of the solar panels.

Households with 3 phase power can install up to 30 kilowatts of rooftop solar before special protective equipment needs to be installed, but council permission will be required to install more than 10 kilowatts.

Ten kilowatts of solar panels covers a considerable amount of roof space. If they are 20% efficient they will take up 50 square meters. While solar panels don’t necessarily have to all be located together, many people will still have difficulty finding enough room on their roof for 10 or more kilowatts.

Maitland Electricity Usage

A Maitland household of 3 people without gas will use an average of around 6,940 kilowatt-hours a year. The average Maitland home uses around 34% more electricity in winter than summer.

Maitland Roofs And Solar Panel Tilt

The best angle to install solar panels is the angle your roof is already at. While it is possible to use frames that alter the tilt of the panels, unless there are special circumstances, these are not worth it these days, as it is generally cheaper and easier to just install extra panels.

The majority of roofs in Australia have a pitch of either 15 or 22.5 degrees. But Maitland also has many homes with steeper roofs of 30 degrees or more. There is very little difference in output over a year between a shallow 15 degree roof and a steep 45 degree roof. Shallow roofs provide a mild advantage to households that have high summer air conditioning demand, while steeper roofs provide a mild advantage to those who use more electricity on winter days. Compared to panels on a shallow 15 degree roof, those on a steep 45 degree roof will produce around 18% less electricity in January and 22% more in July. .

How Solar Panel Direction Affects Output In Maitland

North facing solar panels will produce the most electricity, but placing panels facing east or west can certainly be worthwhile, especially if they increase a household’s self consumption of solar electricity.

Panels facing directly east or west will produce almost 20% less electricity than north facing panels over a year. East facing panels will produce more electricity in the morning, while west facing ones produce more in the afternoon. East facing panels will produce slightly more electricity than west facing ones because mornings are cooler than afternoons and heat reduces the efficiency at which solar panels operate.

Panels facing north-east or north-west will produce about 5% less electricity than north facing panels.

Getting The Most Out Of Your Rooftop Solar

For households with higher electricity demand in the mornings and afternoons than the middle of the day, an east-west split of rooftop solar panels can be an effective way to increase self consumption of solar electricity.

From around the 21st of December to the 26th of January, thanks to daylight savings time, the sun doesn’t set until after 8:00 pm in Maitland. This is useful for powering air conditioners in the late afternoon with solar electricity, especially when using west or north-west facing panels.

In leafier areas trees may shade roofs for a portion of the day, especially in winter when shadows are longer. The use of microinverters or DC optimisers can help limit the loss of solar panel output caused by shading.

Getting The Most Out The "Solar Rebate"

Many households and business can benefit from solar installations where the solar panels have a total capacity greater than that of their inverter. This will result in some loss of output from the solar panels when the sky is clear and the sun is high in the sky, but will cause greater output when the sun is low or skies are overcast. This results in a smoother production of solar electricity through the day which can help increase a household’s self consumption, which is very useful for improving the economic payback of rooftop solar.

A rooftop solar system’s total panel capacity can be up to one third larger than the size of its inverter and still receive the full amount of STCs which lower the cost of installing solar. This reduction is often referred to as the solar rebate. Technically it’s not a rebate, but many people don’t care and call it that anyway. The solar rebate will be reduced on the first of January each year until it ends in 2030, so the earlier a system is installed, the greater the rebate that will be received.

In Maitland, the maximum system size allowed is determined by size of the inverter which must be less than 5 kilowatts for a home with single phase power. However, the total capacity of the solar panels can exceed this and be 5 kilowatts or greater. So a home with single phase power could install a 4.2 kilowatt inverter with up to 5.6 kilowatts of solar panels.

Upgrading Electricity Meters For Solar Power

An import/export electricity meter will need to be installed when rooftop solar is added to a home.

If you have an older switchboard with fuses rather than circuit breakers this will need to be upgraded. This could potentially cost $1,400 or more.

Rooftop Solar And Emissions

Solar electricity generated in Maitland will mostly displace black coal generation in NSW, along with a smaller amount of natural gas generation. This makes rooftop solar in Maitland very effective at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Grid And Maitland

The high voltage, long distance transmission lines that deliver grid electricity to Maitland are managed by Transgrid. Starting on the 16th of December 2015, in return for $10.258 billion, Transgrid is being leased for 99 years by a consortium called NSW Electricity Networks.

The low voltage distribution of electricity to homes and businesses is managed by Ausgrid.